As leader of the Parallax org Innocent Bystanders, Sid Griffen perched himself at the table's head, surrounded by his leadership council. Each member seated at the elliptic table stood by him since the game's opening, and some from games before. Though several members butted heads at times, Sid remained confident that they all had the org's best interests at heart. Braced for a similar discourse this day, he stood and opened the meeting.

“Sorry for the odd timing,” Sid said. “As you know, my boss had to send me out of state to work an urgent job and I just got back home. It turns out, there were some idiots who couldn't follow written directions and they cost the company nearly a hundred grand per day in productivity. But enough of that. Lily gave me the report, but I was away, so let me hear your opinions on the last dominion war. Twain, you were the op commander, let's start with you.”

“Right,” Twain said. “To begin, we stuck with the original plan you laid out, with the destroyers Neapolitan, Moose Tracks, and Rocky Road traversing with their escorts followed by generator ship Doctor Fred, and assault cruisers Spearmint and Peppermint in that order.”

He stood and played the battle vid on the central projector, which began with the Neapolitan's emergence. The holomap revealed nine medium ships with their escort fleets a hundred and fifty kilometers off the gate. Within five lay another fleet of nearly two hundred small ships and fighters. Dozens of red markers instantly shot towards the destroyers. Though half of them fell to anti-fighter countermeasures, nearly ten markers reached inside the Neapolitan's shield radius and launched torpedoes into its hull and retreated to relative safety.

It looks like Leonard's escorts forgot to assign zone responsibilities in advance, Sid thought. I'll need to remind them.

“As we expected,” Twain continued, “Phalanx torpedo bombers gate camped. It's too bad, but Neapolitan was hit by their bombers and blew early.”

“I don't get how you do it Sid,” Leonard, the Neapolitan's captain, spoke up. “I didn't see any more bombers than usual, but I couldn't fight off their approach.”

“Twain overestimated Leonard's ability,” Lily said. “He followed the plan as if Conrad commanded Neapolitan.”

“That's my fault actually,” Sid apologized. “That was Leonard's first time spearheading a hostile traversal. I drafted that plan assuming I'd be leading. Because of work, I couldn't adjust the plan, but if I had increased the Neapolitan's escort, our fleet would've been in better shape.”

“I'll remember that next time,” Twain said.

“By the way, call me Sid here Lily.”

“But you're Conrad to me.”

Sid sighed. “Never mind, keep going Twain.”

Nearly a hundred interceptors and thirty frigates surrounded the two destroyers and their escort fleets. At range, the Phalanx assault cruisers bombarded the Rocky Road. Sid watched in silence as its shield power collapsed. Though it maneuvered to reduce its exposed area, the ship buckled under simultaneous assaults from cruisers and frigates. At that moment, Doctor Fred appeared in system escorted by blue markers rather than green.

“After the first wave of torpedo bombers attacked,” Twain said, “Phalanx chose Rocky Road as their primary. Devil tried to maneuver for survival, but the Phalanx ships still had enough time to kill Rocky Road before Doctor Fred arrived.”

The destroyer captains let their situational awareness slip a bit, Sid mused while nodding. Escorts did well though.

“They maneuvered too far off the gate,” Lily said. “I couldn't reach them in time before Rocky died.”

“That was my bad,” Devil said. “I focused too much on avoiding fire and didn't notice.”

“The op commander really should go on one of the first ships,” Lily said. “Conrad would've reminded you about positioning too.”

“There's nothing we could have done about that Lily,” Sid said. “Twain's our next best tactician, but he's also best when commanding an assault cruiser, so that's a compromise I would accept.”

“If you say so...”

“It does show how much we depended on Sid without realizing it,” Devil said.

The second wave of red launched against Doctor Fred. Accordingly, the blue escort fleet repositioned itself and shot countless missiles, marked in yellow, into the approaching torpedo bombers. After three volleys from both interceptors and frigates, the fleet of bombers crumbled.

Not bad, Sid thought, not bad at all.

“So anyways, the next part of the battle proceeded as planned,” Twain said. “A second wave of bombers went for Doctor Fred, but the escort fleet held them off. After that, I arrived on Spearmint, followed by Peppermint. Doctor Fred became the new primary, but it had enough shield power to last until the second fleet arrived.”

“The Temple Wraiths were really good,” Lily said. “I thought my ship would die with an escort that small. Aero's command style is kinda like yours Conrad.”

“Good to know,” Sid said. “So what happened next?”

Another group of green markers appeared at the gate. The clouds of red and green crashed and mixed together as the frigate and interceptor fleets engaged each other. Occasionally, a flash of blue appeared among the swarm of small ships. As typical of domain wars, the clash between countless small ship looked impossible to follow. Another group of medium ships traversed, and the red fleet retreated from the gate and the six new escort fleets. Nearly a third disappeared before they could regroup.

Hmm, overall escort fleet losses of about fifty percent, slightly skewed towards the hired fleets…

“See,” Twain said, “after the second fleet traversed, the Phalanx commander pulled his guys back. Since they had too many priest ships we couldn't break any of their shields. They didn't have enough destroyers or cruisers though, so the battle stalled, see?”

“This is what confused me.” Sid leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist. “The original plan ends at this stage since we wouldn't know the status of each fleet. Lily said you sent the Temple Wraiths' frigates against their generator ship. Why?”

Twain shrugged his shoulders. “There wasn’t anything out there which could break Doctor Fred, so we didn't need them to escort it anymore. Since their fleet commander, that Aero guy, was supposed to be some genius, I thought he could shift things in our favor. See, we had to do something before Phalanx called in allied ships. And anyways, it doesn't hurt to limit how much we have to pay them either.”

The group watched as four blue markers backed up before flinging themselves against the red cloud. Though they quickly vanished from the map, the last frigate launched two torpedoes into the priest's shield.

“Wait,” Sid stopped the vid. “I heard they succeeded in destroying the priest. What happened?”

“They did!” Lily said. “Replay the last ten seconds again watch their fleet carefully.”

“See,” Twain said, “after their frigates sank, the Phalanx generator ship also blew up. Killboards showed that they got a squad of marines on board and destroyed it from the inside.”

Sid zoomed the holomap in on the Wraith's frigates. After they vanished, two minuscule blue dots continued onward and encountered the red ship. A minute later, that red marker faded as well. Wow, they actually succeeded, he thought.

“Its a good thing they didn't make a fuss about that,” Andy said. “I can't imagine how much work I'd have to do if they spread rumors that we sent mercenary fleets on suicide runs. You do know that our recruitment and negotiating power depend on a good reputation.”

Twain waved the comment off. “Rumors are rumors, we're big enough that people badmouth us anyways.”

“I agree with Twain,” Leonard said. “The tactic worked, and that's what matters most.”

“I'm amazed that it did," Sid said. “When was the last time someone boarded a medium ship during a dominion war?”

“Never during a dominion war,” Devil said. “Boardings only happen when pirates jump those ships away from their battle fleets.”

“Have the news sites or PG forums picked up on that action yet?” Sid asked.

“Everything's still quiet,” Andy said. “I'm sure someone saw it, but they aren't broadcasting it at least.”

“Okay, you all know this already, but do not let this vid leak,” Sid said. “We can't have everyone and their mother trying to sabotage ships during dominion wars. Agreed?” Sid confirmed yes's and nods from everyone at the table.

The recording continued, and the Bystanders' escort fleets of blue and green flew toward the Phalanx fleet of red, followed by a second set of green torpedo bombers. The ensuing chaos left most their frigates and fighters in the first group destroyed, but they eliminated half the red escorts.

“So Twain,” Sid said, “can you explain these next commands, please?”

“Phalanx put all their torpedo bombers by the gate, so our medium ships weren't threatened by anything,” Twain said. “By sending our interceptors and frigates against their escort fleets, it opened a chance to use our own torpedo bombers against their priests.”

“That makes sense, but why ask the Wraiths to take point?” Sid asked.

“They were the best group fighter pilots in the allied fleet. See, their survival rate was seventy-five percent at that point. It was fifty-five for our alpha fleet's pilots and forty for the other mercenaries we hired. If they led, the attack was most likely to succeed.”

Andy sighed. “The tactic worked, but you have a lot to learn about PR. I'm sure they thought you sent them on another suicide run.”

“I think so too,” Lily said. “Twain looks super self-centered whenever he talks.”

“Sid,” Twain said, “please tell your sister to shut up.”

“Calm down,” Sid said. “Both of you.”

“Have you heard from the Wraiths since then?” Devil asked.

“Just when they confirmed their payment receipt,” Andy said.

“Let's get back on topic guys,” Sid said. “Twain, can you wrap things up?”

“Sure,” Twain said. The bombers charged towards the two priest ships. The remaining red fleet moved to defend their generator ships, but the bombers reached one of the two priests and sank it. With that second priest lost, the Phalanx fleet turned toward Arioch Gate and fled. A confident grin grew on Twain's face. “See, after the escort fleets attacked, our bomber attack worked. We experienced heavy losses to our small ship fleet, but we destroyed another Phalanx priest ship. Their commander retreated after that sinking, and we claimed the system.”

Could have been cleaner, but an acceptable result, Sid thought. A single generator ship could not sustain itself against four destroyers and four assault cruisers, so the Phalanx defense became unsustainable. Though Twain's tactics were blunt, he recognized the fastest way to force his enemy's retreat. Like most mid-scale dominion wars, the battle ended when one side lost too many support ships and backed down.

“Wait,” Sid said. “The report said Phalanx lost two priest ships and a destroyer. When did you target and sink the destroyer?”

“You see, I didn't,” he said.

“We didn't see that part,” Andy said. “The Temple Wraiths' marines took that one, literally. The same guy who blasted the first priest ship, Legius June, also received credit for commandeering the destroyer on the killboards. Apparently he's their space marine commander.”

“You're telling me their space marines cost Phalanx two medium ships?” Sid asked.

“That's what happened,” Andy said.

That can't be right, Sid thought. The equipment cost for marines amounts to a rounding error in dominion finances. If a few hand-held weapons could consistently take down, or worse, steal a capital ship, then it'd be the most dangerous and cost effective threat in dominion wars by far. If such tactics were used against us…

“What's wrong Con?” Lily asked.

“Devil, increase our spending on ship security personnel by…” Sid paused. “No, not just increase. Double it.”

“I agree, Sid,” Devil said. “That might be the cheapest ship insurance in Parallax ever.”

“Okay,” Sid said. “Does anyone else have anything to add on Twin Arcs?”

“The Temple Wraiths were amazing!” Lily jumped up. “We should bring them back again.”

“You told me that already Lily,” Sid said. “If no one has anything else to add, here are my comments. First, Twain. Good job with command. Alex is right that you could improve your PR skills, but you won the battle quickly while keeping losses in the acceptable range.”

Twain beamed. “Thanks, I'll make sure to do even better next time I'm needed.”

“Next, Stance and Pastel, your interceptor groups did well defending the lead destroyers. Pass that on to your groups too.”

“You saw that from just the holomap?” Stance asked.

“It's one of my jobs as the leader you know,” Sid said.

“Wow… thanks…” Pastel said.

For each of his executives, Sid had a few words, most often of advice, but at times in commendation and sometimes both. In return, he heard words of appreciation. Once he concluded his own remarks, Sid closed the report on Twin Arcs. “Now, on to preparations for our next offensive,” Sid said. “Leonard, what is the status of our next destroyer replacement?”

“On schedule. We started construction in the main shipyard Friday night after the loss of Neapolitan and Rocky Road. The primary armaments can be reconsidered until Tuesday and the expected completion date is Thursday.”

“And the smaller ships?” Sid asked.

“Our dominion's factories are short by about sixty interceptors,” Leonard said. “Devil is making purchase arrangements last I heard."

“I am,” Devil said. “Fifth Foundry's giving us a decent bulk discount this time.”

“Okay,” Sid said, “Its too bad destroyers can't be purchased on the market. It would be much easier with our fleet at full strength.”

“Isn't that another reason to get Aero's help?” Lily asked. “They have a destroyer now right?”

“That would be fine,” Andy said, “but considering how Twain commanded last time…”

“Leave it to me,” Sid said, “I'll convince them to join us this week.”